Louise Baldock was a Labour Councillor in the city of Liverpool for two terms, 2006 - 2014. This was her award-winning blog, written mainly as a councillor about issues affecting Kensington and Fairfield ward, sometimes as a politician, and sometimes simply personal commentary. Although she thought she might rekindle the blog after May 2015, she has now changed her mind and leaves this as an archive and record.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

What's that all about then?

We have gathered a wide selection of LibDem leaflets this weekend from across the city.

I am somewhat bemused to see that they are being printed in red and black - and not a spot of yellow to be seen.

Why is this, I have asked myself. The obvious answer is the LibDems are hoping that readers think, for a while at least, that these are Labour leaflets.

But why would they want to do that?

I am not a stupid woman, I have 13 years of professional campaign training with the Labour Party. I am aware of leaflets that have gone out in the country before, in Labour colours, that purport to suggest that Tony Blair was urging people to vote Liberal Democrat (as if!).

But these leaflets are not pretending to be Labour leaflets, indeed they still have a Focus banner at the top, although it is greyed out hard to spot.

So what is it all about, I keep asking myself.

But then the only answer presented itself to me at yesterday's Labour Liverpool campaign meeting. They must be so fed-up of people throwing their yellow leaflets away un-read that the only slight chance they have of anyone reading their propaganda is to put it into the colours of the party that people do want to read about - Labour.

This is the party running the city (down), this is the party that claims to be taking Liverpool back to the top, but they are in such a slough of despond that they have to pretend to be Labour to even get anyone to read a word.

That this is the party that also has failed to manage to stand a candidate in two wards out of 30, is also not lost on the voters